The Heart Never Forgets
by Lady Hurricane
Summary: Hermione and Draco, five years down the road. Can they forget what passed between them and learn to get along again? Not HBP, DH, or Epilogue compliant. Draco is pretty OOC. Post-Hogwarts, Alternate Universe. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Dreams

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

Hermione Jane Granger woke up in a cold sweat, after having a nightmare. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and trying to erase the painful thoughts from her mind. Trembling, she crawled out of bed, slipping on a robe as she padded out to her kitchen. Pointing her wand at the hearth, she muttered something under her breath, and instantly, merry flames danced around the fireplace. She made herself a steaming mug of coca and sat down by the hearth, finally relaxing, and allowing herself remember her dream…

*

_She was alone, walking through an old, deserted house. She opened each door, only to find that that room was as empty as the next. Fear mounted in her chest as she neared the end of the hall. She opened the last door, expecting it to be cold and deserted, but to her surprise, and fright, it was not empty. _

_A slim figure stood over another, the latter writhing on the floor in pain. The standing figure looked up at her through his dark cloak with a malicious smile on his face. It was Lord Voldemort. She then lowered her gaze to the person on the floor, gasping as she recognized a familiar face. It was Draco Malfoy, his white-blond hair a tangled mess and his face pale and sweaty as he gasped for breath when Voldemort took his wand off him. _

_Draco looked up at her as she gasped, recognition flashing across his face, followed by flickers of hurt, anger and sadness. She watched the play of emotions on his pale face, feeling a stab at her own heart at the sight of the face of the one she had so loved. The one she **still**__ loved. Draco glared at her through the tangles of his fair hair, and then proceeded to ignore her. _

_"Ahhhh, well, well, well, look at who has come to join us," Voldemort sneered at her tauntingly, as the door slammed behind her. Hermione remained quiet, worrying about Draco, and wishing they were anywhere else, away from Voldemort. Suddenly, Hermione felt an invisible force – which she discovered she could not fight- push her down to the ground beside Draco._

_"__I've been teaching your little friend here, what happens to traitors," Voldemort continued with malice, pointing a long, thin finger at Draco, "And I think I ought to teach you too," He paused, seemingly for effect, and directed his glare down at the crumpled heap on the floor. "What say you?" When Draco didn't answer, he kicked him and sneered "You're a guileless piece of fickle filth, just like your father! But your spineless line will finally be exterminated tonight, and the Mudblood can bear witness!" He laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Hermione's spine. "And then, I'm going to get rid of her too!" He continued, somewhat maniacally. "_Avada-_"_

*

…And that was where she always woke up. She'd been having the reoccurring dream for a while now, she didn't know exactly how long, but lately, she'd been getting it more and more often and it had been bothering her more and more. She didn't know what it meant, but it stirred feelings within her that she'd rather forget. She sighed, shaking her curly head out of her reverie and heading back to bed.

*

It had been a little over five years since they had graduated from Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron and Hermione still remained close friends. Both Harry and Ron had gone on to work for the Ministry as Aurors, and were still members of the Order of the Phoenix. Ron had married Luna Lovegood, and Harry had been seriously dating Ginny Weasley for the past year and a half.

Voldemort was still out there, and was still as powerful as ever. He had evaded their attempts to destroy him thus far, but the Order continued to grow, and both sides were preparing for the inevitable war that was approaching.

Hermione also worked for the Ministry, but she worked only part-time in the Department of Mysteries (and luckily, she hadn't turned all barmy on them, like many of her unfortunate co-workers), and with her remaining time, she held a part-time job as a Healer at St. Mungo's, worked as an agent for the Order, and was still an active advocate for house-elf rights. She lived with Crookshanks, and with the painful memories that she had spent every day for the past five years trying to forget. _I'm independent_, she told herself over and over again, _I can make my own happiness_. And so she tried. She was moderately successful - she had created a comfortable life for herself, filled with loved ones and work that she enjoyed. But there was something missing. There was always something missing. She had dated casually, but had never dated the same man more than twice. No one seemed to suit her taste at all. _I just haven't found the right person yet_, she said to herself as her friends began to pair off and marry. But a small part of her was able to acknowledge that maybe the problem was that she already _had_ found the right person. But she knew she could never go back to him. That chapter in her life had ended. The pain had dulled, but every once in a while, there would be something... something that echoed his cursed name within the locked chambers of her heart once more. Something that evoked his memory. Perhaps it was the smell of lillies, or a flash of platnum blond hair, or his name on someone's lips. Whatever it was, it set her feelings churning in its wake.

So she had tried to put it - _him_ - behind her. She was better than that, she knew. He didn't deserve her. Hermione had buried herself in her work, and had managed to forget (most of the time) about her heart, which still lie with Draco Malfoy.

_"The heart never forgets,  
No the heart never forgets.  
You can find someone,  
And live your life,  
Put an old memory out of your mind,  
But the heart never forgets."  
-Leann Rimes  
_(The story actually wasn't inspired by this song... I found it after I had already written the first few chapters and named it... but it goes very well with it.)

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter up soon :)**

_-Lady Hurricane_


	2. Just Can't Forget You

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing you recognize.

Draco Malfoy awoke as the early morning sun shone through his window and into his eyes. He stretched luxuriantly, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on his face. Running his fingers through his mess of white-blonde hair, he smiled as he reached for her. But she wasn't there. Of course… it had been another dream about her. A shadow came over his face as reality checked in; he just wanted her back.

Since their bitter breakup at the end of their 7th and final year at Hogwarts, he had missed Hermione tremendously. He, like Hermione, had attempted to totally immerse himself in his work for the Order, getting up early mornings and staying up late nights so he wouldn't have time to think on that painful night…

*

_They had started out arguing over some stupid little thing, but now it had escalated to more serious matters, and they were both shouting in each other's faces. "I won't have you running around fighting Death Eaters!" Draco spat, his face flushed and his chest heaving. _

"_Excuse me?! I will say what I'm going to do with _my_ life, thanks! I don't like what YOU'RE doing for the Order either! But am I forbidding you to do it? Of course not! Don't you think I won't worry about you __every__ single moment of every single day knowing that you're out there risking you're life?! And you expect me to sit at home and knit?! I will NOT do that, Draco!! I'm not some selfish, useless bint, and I'm not going to act like one just because you insist I do!" Hermione roared back at him. _

"_I'm asking you to do this because I love you, goddamnit! I can't take it if you're out there, knowing you could be hurt, knowing you could be DYING and not being able to do anything about it!" Draco yelled, his gray eyes fiery as he continued, "What the hell would I do if you died?!" _

"_You're unbelievable! You're taking a risk even greater than mine out there! What if I died? Then so be it, but not using my skills to fight would be incredibly selfish and cowardly!" Hermione shot back. "I'm not just going to stand on the sidelines and watch as all the ones I love get killed because you worry, Draco! I would think that you know me well enough by now to understand and respect that! I'm not going to compromise my decisions for you. I'm not a child. It's my life, and if this is the way you're going to react, there is no room for you in it!" And with that, she turned her heel and stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted him to stop her, to hold her and never let her go. But he just stood there and watched her go._

*

And every day after, he regretted that night, willing to give up everything just to take back all of the hurtful, stupid things he'd said. And every day, he'd missed her, even though, most of the time, he managed to forget it… for a while. He wondered if she could ever forgive him, but he hadn't seen or talked to her since that night. Sighing wearily, he made his way into the kitchen in search of breakfast.

Suddenly, he heard tapping behind him. He whirled around, to find his great owl, Hawk, named for his piercing glare and his noble air, standing impatiently outside his window.

"Hey, Hawk, whatcha got there?" Draco asked the great bird as he opened the window and let the owl in, taking the scroll from his leg. Hawk flew into his cage, which was in a corner, and started on his own breakfast. Draco shut the window and sat down at a kitchen chair, unrolling the parchment and reading the script within…

Draco –

_Please meet me at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at 9 P.M. tomorrow night. It is urgent._

_Sincerely,_

Albus Dumbledore

Wondering what Dumbledore had in store for him, he finished breakfast and, for lack of anything better to do, went to do his grocery shopping. Never an idle moment, for he knew his mind would wander to undesirable places... although he found her to be very desirable, indeed.

_Thanks for reading! Questions? Comments? They're both very much appreciated :)_

_-Lady Hurricane  
_


	3. Reunion

Hermione awoke in the early afternoon; this being her day off, she'd decided to make the most of it by catching up on her sleep. She grabbed the morning post and a snack, heading into the living room and settling down on her overstuffed couch. Sifting through all of her mail, she was thinking about what a waste of parchment all of the stupid junk mail was when she finally came upon something of interest; a letter from Albus Dumbledore…

_Hermione-_

_Please meet a friend and I at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at 9 P.M tomorrow evening. I ask that you do not miss it, as it is of great importance._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione chewed thoughtfully on her bagel, wondering whom Dumbledore's friend was and what she would be assigned to do.

Voldemort hadn't been very active in the last few weeks, and she knew that a lot of the Order was becoming suspicious. Her old professor at Hogwarts, Severus Snape had been spying for the Order, posing as a Death Eater until his death around two years ago. Voldemort had discovered his treachery and had finished him off, reminding them all of the dangers and risks that they were taking every single day.

*

Surprising no one, after Cornelius Fudge (the previous Minister of Magic) had resigned, the young and ambitious Percy Weasley, had become the youngest Minister of Magic ever. At twenty-five, he was doing his job quite well, according to the _Daily Prophet_ and most citizens of the wizarding community. Percy was seeking help from Dumbledore at least every other day, if not more.

Albus Dumbledore, of course, was still the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and the unofficial leader of the light side.

The Ministry was sending out all of their Aurors to search for loose Death Eaters and other dangerous Voldemort supporters.

*

The next day, after another tedious day at the Ministry, Hermione hurried home a couple of hours before her meeting with Dumbledore, feeling anxious and excited; she hadn't done anything even moderately exciting for the Order in a while.

As she was eating her supper, she heard a little 'pop!' behind her, spinning around, she found Harry's head in her fireplace, the emerald flames dancing around his dark head. Hermione let out a slow breath of relief, her heart rate slowing to its normal pace once again.

"Hey, 'Mione, what's up?" He grinned. "Didn't scare you, did I?"

Hermione laughed, "No, I'm just a little tense, that's all."

"Why, what's wrong?" He asked quickly.

"Oh, no! Nothing, I'm just a bit excited," she answered.

He then proceeded to enthusiastically explain to her every little piece of action from the quidditch game he had attended the night before until Hermione realized (much to her chagrin, I'm sure) that it was time that she'd better be going if she wanted to make it to the meeting on time.

Hermione apparated in her customary spot; just a little away from Number 12, Grimmauld Place, in a small patch of bushes. She smoothed out her skirt as she let herself into the dark house.

"We're in here!" A voice called out to her.

She headed into the kitchen, where the sound had come from. As she entered the room, she saw Dumbledore sitting calmly at the table, and… sitting next to him was Draco Malfoy.

Her eyes widened and she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the familiar face that had haunted her dreams and too many of her waking thoughts for the past five years.

Draco's reaction was not quite so dramatic. He stared at her for a brief moment, his expression unreadable, but he obviously had known that she would be here.

Hermione finally gained control of herself and quickly averted her eyes.

She had known that Draco still did a lot of work for the Order, as the war was not over yet, but, miraculously, she had never seen him in any of all of the meetings and such that she always attended. She privately suspected that Dumbledore had something to do with this, as it was quite well known that if Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were in the same room, good things weren't likely to come of it. She so wished that things had turned out differently, but as they hadn't, she tried to make the best out of the situation.

"Come and take a seat," Dumbledore said.

Numbly, she nodded, taking the seat on the other side of Dumbledore and sank down in the chair. Draco was now ignoring her.

The old man eyed them gravely over his half-moon spectacles. "Please forgive me for not informing either of you who else would be here, but I thought it best to keep it from you, given past events. I have called you both here this evening. Do you both agree to fully hear what I have to say… peacefully and without preconceived decisions?"

Hermione and Draco glanced shiftily at each other, but nodded.

The old wizard beamed at them, " Good, good. You are both well respected and trusted members of the Order, and you are quite well aware of Voldemort's whereabouts and doings. Each of you knows what he is capable of, and so I have chosen the two of you to do this particular mission for the Order. If you can get along, that is."

Draco glared at Hermione coolly, "I'll try, if she promises that she won't walk out in the middle of it again; I don't know if I could take it if you left twice in 5 years," He sneered at her.

"Yeah? Well, you didn't exactly try to stop me either!" Hermione snarled. "And it was your own bloody fault, I wouldn't have left if you hadn't been a total control-freaked idiot!"

Dumbledore raised his hand for silence and cried over their bickering, " Children… _children_! I'll give you a week to please work out your differences. We will need Hermione's wit and cleverness and Draco's cunning and quick mind for this difficult task. We need you to find out _exactly_ what Voldemort is up to. As you know, we lost one of our best spies two years ago. I am talking, of course, about Severus Snape. Since his death, we have had a lot more trouble getting our hands on information before Voldemort and his Death Eaters strike again. We have made, what I suppose you would call an…er... educated guess," he smiled at his own words, "That he is planning something big- perhaps his biggest and most destructive scheme yet. We need you two to find out what it is before it happens." He finished, looking up as the great grandfather clock in the corner rung loudly, startling them all.

Dumbledore stood up, "I really must be off, but I'll be in touch with you both next week, in the mean time, please make a serious effort to work out your problems. The lives of many potentially depend on your ability to get along. I bid you both a good night." And with a swish of his cloak, he walked out of the room.

Draco and Hermione sat in silence for a couple more minutes until, Hermione, the Gryffindor, spoke up. She cleared her throat hesitantly, "So… so how've you been?" She asked tentatively, her voice unnaturally high.

"What is it to you?" He snapped back.

"He told us to get along, so I was trying to be civil, you arsehole!"

His voice softened a little bit, but still contained a hard edge. "Sorry, I guess I'm a bit tired. I really have to go too…But I guess we should get together sometime in the week and talk…" He finished grudgingly.

"I - ok, sure," she squeaked.

He turned as if to leave, but she summoned up all the courage she could muster and called to him, "Wait! I – I'm sorry," she said clearly.

"Yeah? Me too," he ground out. And with that, he turned on his heel and exited the room, leaving Hermione with a fresh stream of tears. _Why is he so impossible? _She miserably asked herself.


	4. To See You Again

Draco sat at the kitchen table, brooding. He felt lost and confused. Seeing Hermione again had brought back many memories - both good and bad - back to him.

When Dumbledore had told him that Hermione would be there, he had felt torn; half of him had wanted to run and hide away forever, and the other half had eagerly awaited her arrival.

_You can't keep running from the past,_ he thought ruefully.

He had to learn to at least have a civil conversation with her by the end of the week. Sighing heavily, he rubbed his temples slowly. He was so immature when he was with her, but it was because all of his previous hurt and anger seemed to surface.

If there had been any doubt in his mind as to whether he still loved Hermione or not anymore, it had all been erased the moment he saw her walk in through the doorway. Now he was really regretting his outburst, (he was, after all, sitting there psyching himself out about it) as she'd never love someone who was cruel to her and still acted like a lovelorn teenager.

He decided he'd send her an owl and ask if she wanted to meet him for dinner at a local restaurant the following night. He hastily scribbled a note and sent Hawk off with it. He got into bed, hoping she'd agree, he fell into a fitful sleep.

Hermione jumped out of her doze on her couch by a sharp rapping on the window.

Outside, tapping on the window stood a large and beautiful owl, its piercing glare directed in at her as she hurried to let him in. He held out his leg for her and she untied the scroll, but before she could do anything else, the great bird flew off into the dark night sky.

She slammed the window shut, as the chilly outside air was already seeping through the room. Snuggling back down in her warm blankets, she curiously unrolled the parchment and read the unfamiliar script…

_Hermione-_

_Please accept my apologies for letting my anger get the best of me the other night. I was wondering if I could make it up to you… would you like to meet me for dinner at the Phoenix Feather at 6:30 tomorrow night? Hopefully, we can start to work things out._

_Hope to see you soon._

_Draco_

Hermione re-read the letter through twice more, her smile growing more each time, before grabbing the nearest spare bit of paper and jotting down a reply. She wondered if Draco really meant everything that he'd said in his letter. She certainly hoped he did. It wasn't hard to see that she was still in love with him, and no matter what happened, she knew that she always would be; time or death or anything else could never stop it. It was both a blessing and a curse - but the past few years it had been more of a curse.

She knew that the Phoenix Feather was one of the nicest places to eat in town. It was quite formal too. Her heart jumped as she realized that it was where they had gone for their first date. She wondered if he meant anything by it.

_Don't be stupid, of course he didn't! Maybe we could start fresh…try to forget about the past_, she thought hopefully. They had both hurt each other, and she wondered if those wounds could be healed.

Yawning widely, she realized that it was still night, and if she wanted to get a good nights sleep, she'd better calm down and go to sleep. She pulled the covers up over her and with a small smile, fell into a deep sleep.

Draco looked up from his breakfast reluctantly at the sound of tapping on a window. There was a stunning owl outside of his window. He recognized him immediately as Hermione's owl, Quarles. He had given her the owl, so many Christmases ago in their 6th year. She had named him after one of her favorite poets, Francis Quarles, an English poet. The bloke had died a long time ago though- sometime in the 1600s. He quickly made his way to the window and let the bird in. Quarles immediately flew to the nearest chair and perched on it. Slamming the window, he turned and untied the parchment. He stroked the bird a few times before removing the scroll and reading it…

_Draco-_

_I accept your apology, I didn't exactly act too mature myself._

_Sure, I'll meet you tonight, we DO need to start to get along again._

_-Hermione_

Draco danced a little jig, grinning a bit foolishly. _You're a pathetic excuse for a Slytherin,_ he thought to himself giddily, _its not a date or anything, and she probably wouldn't come if it wasn't necessary, but it's a START!_ He remembered when he had given Quarles to her. He eyes had shone so brightly that they'd put the stars to shame. He sighed sadly, then gave Quarles a bit of water before sending him off on his way.

"Send her my love," he whispered softly into the owl's warm feathers as he carried Quarles to the window.

He watched the creature fly off into the sunlight, letting only a single tear slip down his cheek.

This time, he didn't even scold himself for the tear, he rarely shed tears, and when he did, he was not happy with himself. But this time, he'd almost felt as though he'd deserved it.

He turned away from the window, still thinking mournful thoughts.

He really had no close friends. All he had was Hawk, and as much as Draco loved him, Hawk never responded when he talked to him, and lack of friendships and friendly human contact made him very, very lonely.

All of his old 'friends' from Hogwarts had turned their backs on him when he had started seeing Hermione. That didn't really matter to him, he'd never really cared for them anyways, and the small sacrifice had been worth it. He so wished for strong friendships, like the ones Ron, Harry and Hermione had. He had gotten along okay with Harry and Ron while he'd been dating Hermione, but after they had broken up and Hermione had been miserably, they had blamed Draco entirely.

He had always been extremely jealous of Potter and Weasley, they had always been so close, sharing the same House, most of the same classes, and a strong friendship that had lasted through much.

_Some people get all the luck,_ he thought bitterly. _But if given the chance,_ will_ make it up to her!_

_I'd do anything,_

_just to hold you in my arms,_

_and try to make you laugh,_

_'cause somehow I can't put you in the past…_

Humming softly to herself, Hermione let herself into her house.

"Hey!" a voice greeted her.

She quickly looked up, to find her best friend, Ginny Weasley, sitting at her kitchen table, sipping on a steaming mug of tea.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, surprised, but pleased as she went in and gave her a warm hug.

Ginny grinned slyly, "Oh, I was just in the neighborhood, and thought I'd stop in and see you!"

"Well, I'm glad you did!" Hermione replied, conjuring herself a mug of hot tea and taking the seat across from her red-haired friend.

"So, how've you been?"

"Brilliant!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows at her friend's enthusiastic response.

"Guess what?!" Ginny exploded, before Hermione could speak.

"I have absolutely no idea," her friend replied, although she did have an idea as to what could be the cause of her excitement.

"Dean asked me to marry him!!"

"Omigosh!" Hermione squealed, her suspicions correct. "What was your answer?!"

"YES!! Duh!"

Ginny showed her the ring, and Hermione couldn't help but feel a tad jealous of her friend, as she would've been married years ago.

_You_ would've_ been married_, a voice inside her head chimed in.

She was determined to be happy for her friend, so she pushed the voice aside as they chatted happily.

Hermione had known that it was going to happen soon, as Ginny's longtime boyfriend and childhood sweetheart, Dean Thomas, had asked her to help pick out a ring for Ginny weeks ago.

"Why don't you spend the night?"

"I'd love to!" Ginny enthused.

Hermione's smile faded a little as she remembered why she'd been so happy all day.

"Oh, no! Ginny, I'm so sorry! I forgot, I have to meet Draco at the Phoenix Feather in a half an hour!"

Ginny's eyebrows shot up into her hairline, and remained there, until Hermione explained the nature of the dinner date. Ginny beamed at her friend, "I'm glad you two are finally getting along again! It has been a long time coming, too. Well, what are you waiting for?! Let's get you ready!"


	5. The Phoenix Feather

Hermione entered the Phoenix Feather at precisely 6:25, looking beautiful and nervous and wearing the bright skirt that flowed past her knees and the simple button-down blouse that Ginny had helped her pick out.

She spotted his platinum blond hair that would stand out in any crowd, and quickly made her way over to him. He was standing in a corner looking at a beautiful painting of a centaur on the wall. Nervously, she tapped lightly on his shoulder.

Turning around, his eyes lit up for a brief moment, but Hermione didn't miss it.

"Hey,"

"Hey, you look…wow, you look great." Said Draco, looking admiringly at her.

Hermione smiled hesitantly, "So do you."

A waiter led them over to a vacant table in a corner.

After ordering, they started a tentative, but nonetheless _civil_ conversation.

"So…er… how _have_ you been?" Hermione asked quietly, her dark eyes solemn as she watched his face intently.

"I've been fine," he started, wanting to tell her how he'd missed like crazy all these years; about all those nights when her face had haunted him in his dreams, when he'd wake up crying out her name, only to find himself alone in the darkness once again. But he didn't.

"Busy working, but good all the same." He continued, "What about you?"

"I've been quite well." She answered, wondering when he answered her, why he'd briefly looked so sad. _He was probably thinking about how he'd rather be anywhere but here with me…_

"So… are you and Seamus still going out?" Draco asked as casually as he could, but feeling as though if her answer was yes he would get the urge to slice off Seamus's fingers with dental floss.

Hermione didn't miss the jealousy in his eyes, and felt as though a weight was lifted from her shoulders. _Maybe he does care_, she thought, she had no idea that he would be jealous that her and Seamus Finnigan, an old friend from school had been going out almost a year ago.

"Uh…no, we broke up almost a year ago," She voiced aloud.

"Oh, er…sorry to hear that," he answered, not looking sorry at all, in fact, he looked quite the contrary; he looked as though he'd very much like to jump up and down for joy.

"What about you?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not seeing anyone, if that's what you meant."

Hermione smiled to herself, forgetting that she wasn't alone for a brief moment, and when she remembered and looked up, she found Draco watching her amusedly. She caught his silver-gray eyes with her own and they gazed into each others eyes, searching for answers, for what seemed an eternity, but must have been only a few short moments. The moment was broken, however, by an embarrassed waiter, who cleared his throat, snapping both Draco and Hermione out of their daydreams. The waiter quickly served their meals and scampered off, leaving them both slightly embarrassed.

After finishing, Draco insisted upon paying the bill, even though it was against Hermione's wishes.

Outside, they parted reluctantly, not planning to meet again until they were to meet with Dumbledore, as Hermione had a busy few days of work ahead of her.

Just as Hermione was about to leave, Draco caught her arm and she turned around to face him, a puzzled expression in her eyes.

"I…" He trailed off; they were lost in each others eyes again. Slowly, he lowered his face toward hers. Hermione's eyes widened and fluttered closed as his lips made contact with hers. The kiss was tentative, as if he was unsure how it would be received.

He soon found out that he needn't worry about that, as she slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back enthusiastically. They parted, once again lost in each others eyes. Hermione smiled up at him, pulling away.

"Thanks."

He grinned back at her sweetly, "anytime," he said cheekily.

She laughed, "Well, I guess I'd better go…I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure," he replied, kissing her one last time before they went their separate ways.


	6. Changes

Hermione apparated in her usual spot, and discovered immediately that she wasn't alone.

She had apparated right on top of someone.

They crashed to the ground with many a grunt and yelp, in a tangle of limbs.

"Oomph!" Hermione groaned as she heard a sharp intake of breath from the person under her as her elbow accidentally jabbed the other being in the stomach.

"Sorry!" Hermione moaned miserably as she scrambled off, untangling herself and standing up.

"Are you alright?" A familiar deep male voice asked her kindly, but she detected a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"D-Draco?" She asked, surprised.

"The one and only," he grinned up at her. "So, are you going to help me up, or are you just going to stand there and drool over me all day?" He teased, noticing that she was staring down at him.

Hermione felt a rosy blush fill her cheeks, and cursed herself for going red so easily in front of him. She quickly offered her hand down to him.

"Sorry about that," Hermione muttered, her cheeks still crimson in the pale light of a street lamp nearby.

"About apparating on top of me or about staring? 'Cause believe me, I didn't mind either one of them!"

Hermione laughed, a warm, melodious sound that lifted Draco's spirits.

And she kept laughing. At first, Draco just stared up at her with an alarmed look on his handsome face, but then, just because he found the sight of her, Hermione Granger, Miss always-keeps-her-cool, cracking up at something that he barely considered funny.

_Merlin's Beard, she's beautiful,_ he thought, his soft gaze directed up at her flushed face.

Finally, her laughter subsided, and she finally helped him up off of the ground, and hand in hand, they walked down the sidewalk to the Order's Headquarters.

As they entered, they heard a deep voice humming softly; and as they entered the kitchen, they saw it was Dumbledore, who appeared to be deep in his thoughts.

Draco cleared his throat softly, and the wizened old man looked up, a welcoming smile spreading across his face, "Welcome, welcome! Please take a seat and make yourselves at home!"

Draco nodded and Hermione smiled as they took their seats,

"Well, I'm so glad that you two have started to get along again," He exclaimed, his piercing pale blue eyes resting on their entwined hands.

They quickly broke apart, Hermione blushing yet again, and even Draco's cheeks turned pink.

"Oh, you don't have to be shy around me, did I not ask you to get along again?" His eyes twinkled.

"So…er…where do we start?" Hermione asked, eager to change the subject.

"First off, do you both accept this task with your own full agreement and free will?" he eyed them both closely.

"Yes," they answered in unison.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly,

"Let us begin. The time of Voldemort and Harry's meeting is nearing. As I have previously said, we need to know _exactly_ what he is planning.

"But I am afraid that your mission will prove to be a very perilous task indeed. I have made a large batch of the Polyjuice Potion for you, Hermione, to take. You, of course, know this potion," his eyes twinkled merrily and Hermione had the grace to try and look ashamed of herself.

"You will need to count yourself amongst the Death Eaters for a while, in order for you to get the information that we need. Draco is already a double-agent for the Order, so there is no need for him to go undercover; although he is not ranked very high among the Death Eaters levels, but that too will change." He paused, eyeing them over the tops of his half moon spectacles.

Hermione had gone quite pale, but looked determined.

"You _will_ do it, won't you?" Dumbledore asked gently.

She nodded bravely.

"Of course," she said.

_For the love of Merlin, this is what we broke up about last time; us both doing dangerous things for the Order…_ Hermione thought, _But maybe we're stronger this time around._

As Sirius had once said many years ago,

_There are things worth dying for._

Draco was feeling guilty, this was the reason that she had left him all of those long years ago. He loved her so much, and never wanted to see her hurt, physically _or_ emotionally.

But he had hurt her; when his angel had decided that she'd try her wings, he'd clipped them and held her down.

When she wanted to try her talents and make a change in the world; to go and risk the loss of everything for the sake of what she truly believed in, he'd stood in her way.

So she had left him, she was far too strong-willed and ambitious to let anyone hold her down.

Now he saw how wrong he'd been, and although he still cared, and it would probably always bother him, he swore to himself that he would always stand beside her and support her in whatever she wanted to do, just as she had always done for him.

"Draco," Dumbledore continued, pulling Draco back to the present, "You, obviously, will not need to go undercover, but Hermione, you will go as Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix, along with the other Death Eaters who were with her, died in a battle between them and some Order members late last night," his blue eyes clouded over, "Even though she was the enemy, I must say that it is a shame to lose such an intelligent mind. Such a _waste._ I wish that she had been on our side," he said wistfully.

"But, alas, you cannot win them all. Anyways, as I was saying- Voldemort doesn't know yet if the Death Eaters who were in the fight last night are alive or dead. You, Hermione, are to tell him that the rest of them died, and only you survived, but barely. But you must be extremely cautious, and tread lighter than wood lice around a bowtruckle. For Voldemort is highly skilled in Legilimency- I know having taught him myself. Except, you are trained in that area of expertise also, so if you are careful, when he looks into your eyes, all he will be able to see is your feigned support and devotion. I know that this will be exceedingly difficult, but I have every reason to believe that you two will succeed. We all must make difficult sacrifices in order to win this great and perilous battle, as life wouldn't be worth living if all evil ruled the world. And I'm sure that Draco wouldn't mind giving you some advice and such, because he has been doing this for months now." He added.

Hermione smiled weakly, still trying to digest all that he had said.

"Well, Its getting late, so you two had better be off," the old man smiled, "But you both must return early tomorrow morning to prepare to meet Voldemort… at 6am, alright?"

They both nodded wordlessly and bade him goodnight before heading out into the night, each lost in their own thoughts of the day ahead of them.


	7. Getting There

Early the next morning, Draco apparated in the patch of bushes, waiting for a moment, in hopes that Hermione would join him. Realizing that she was probably already there, he started off down the cracked sidewalk. _God, I'm lovesick…_ he chided himself as he opened the door to Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

He knew that she was scared… well, not scared, but nervous. Very nervous. He too was very worried about her safety. What they were now doing was very dangerous – a mere slip of the tongue could prove to be harmful or even fatal to both of them. He would face an extremely difficult dilemma if for any reason she was tortured – or worse by Voldemort. But if she _did_ do something wrong and was tortured by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, what was he to do? Stand there and watch her suffering - or worse at the hands of the devil himself? Or try to help her and possibly get both of them killed? He just knew that he couldn't live without her. _Been there, done that,_ he thought to himself wryly.

His thoughts drifted to the night before; he had insisted on seeing her home, she had been offended at first, saying that he should know how independent she was by now, but after she saw that he had set his jaw stubbornly and wouldn't back down, she'd finally agreed. She had been lost in her thoughts, almost in a different world, until he had given her a goodnight kiss.

As he entered the kitchen in Headquarters, he saw that he had been right, Hermione was there sitting beside Dumbledore, the two seemed to be in a deep conversation, but greeted Draco as he entered the room. He noted that Hermione looked a great deal calmer, as if it was just another day. After exchanging greetings, he took his seat beside Hermione, slipping his hand into hers.

"You two really must be off; Voldemort will be calling you soon. I think it best if you go separately, Draco, you going first," Dumbledore said quietly. They both nodded solemnly. The old man muttered something, flicking his wand, and a small goblet filled with something foul looking and smelling appeared on the table before Hermione. Hermione gazed at the contents with a horrified expression on her face.

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten about your previous experience with this potion when you were back in school, but I see you have not," Dumbledores eyes twinkled merrily. Draco looked confused, looking first at Hermione, then at Dumbledore for an explanation, but Dumbledore merely told him that they would give details later, but now they were quite pressed for time.

"Do you have the hairs… or ...?" Hermione winced at the thought of what else she might be drinking.

Dumbledore nodded, telling her that they were in a small glass, and the robes and clothes that she was to wear were in the lavatory, where she could change.

Hermione quickly added the greasy hairs, jumping back a few feet as the potion hissed and popped viciously. She quickly changed into the large gloomy robes and the simple dark clothing she was to wear underneath. She noted that the clothing was moth eaten and had a nasty odor about it. Turning her attention back to the disgusting concoction, she saw that it had turned a violent, evil blackish – purple color, which reeked of wickedness. Her eyes watered as the horrible smell overwhelmed her senses. Squeezing her eyes shut, plugging her nose and taking one last deep breath, she quickly downed as much of the foul liquid that she could take – about half of the cup.

At once she felt her body changing; her skin stretching, her hair thinning. It was quite painful, and she had grown a few more inches by the time it was done. Fearfully, she looked into the mirror, stifling a scream as she gazed at the loathsome face before her.

Her skin was now all mottled and rough, her was lay in dank, greasy layers about her gaunt face, and cold, deep set eyes glared at her. Quickly, she rolled up her sleeve, gasping as she saw the skull and snake that all of the Death Eaters bore on their forearms – it was the mark of true evil.

She bared her chipped yellowed teeth and sighed.

_It was going to be a long day._

She bravely walked back into the other room, Draco had already left, and Dumbledore gave her some more instructions before she felt the Dark Mark on her arm burn painfully. Voldemort was calling them.


	8. Behind The Enemy's Lines

**Disclaimer:** HP?! I think not! Just the plot.

Hermione apparated by a large, dark blue door that was badly needing a paint job. She was standing in front of a gigantic, but apparently abandoned, old mansion. There were ugly, thin vines snaking their way up the sides of the house; almost completely covering the cracked bricks and filthy windows, which were either broken or missing. The dark shutters, hung crookedly on rusty hinges.

Hermione directed her attention back to the large door. "_Serpens venenum_," she whispered the password softly, as if she was afraid to break the deathly silence that hung over the area like thick fog. The old door immediately swung forward, to reveal the dim gloominess within.

This dusty old house had clearly once seen great times - times of wealth, and happiness.

But those days were long gone.

The terrible mark on her forearm was still throbbing agonizingly, but the sting had started to diminish.

As she had been instructed to do by Draco, she made her way up two pairs of creaky stairs until she reached the hallway that he had told her she would find. Looking to her right, she saw the door that she knew was the right one.

She stopped right in front of it, staring at it for a long moment as she braced herself and gathered her courage. Taking one last deep breath, she let Bellatrix's face relax into a neutral expression as she opened the door.

Inside, there was a huddle of a few cloaked figures around someone in a chair in the center of the room. The dark cloaked person in the chair looked up at her as she entered, and she felt an involuntary shudder run down her spine as the dreadful pair of eyes met hers. She automatically blocked her mind, locking everyone else out.

The other Death Eaters made a way for her as she made her way to the Dark Lord. Upon reaching him, she knelt at his feet and brushed her lips against the hem of his robes.

While she was doing this with a respectful expression on her face, inside, she felt like howling and breaking things.

This was against everything that she believed in. She hated Voldemort with a passion, he was the root of all evil, the most wicked being that the world had ever seen, and probably the most wicked being that it would ever see.

She determinedly pushed all of her strong emotions aside; she was fighting for the world that they all lived in, the world that her children and grandchildren would live in.

_There was no backing out now._

"My Lord," she whispered reverently as she rose to her feet.

"Bellatrix, you have returned alone," he observed quietly.

"M-master… there was nothing I could do, there were too many of them!" Bellatrix's harsh voice sounded strange pleading with Voldemort. Hermione widened Bella's deep-set eyes convincingly as she gazed up at Voldemort.

"I mourn the death of my fellow Death Eaters, Dolhov, Slatras, Goyle, Rasal and Nott!"

He surveyed her face quietly for a few minutes, as if he was searching for something.

Hermione's heart nearly stopped as she realized that she must have let some of her true emotions show for a few nanoseconds, but it hadn't slipped past Voldemort.

She quickly concealed all of her feelings the best she could, and plastered a fearful expression on Bellatrix's emaciated face.

Voldemort's eyes examined her own for a few more minutes, which seemed like eons for Hermione.

Finally, he seemed satisfied, and spoke again, "I don't blame you, Bella, not this time, anyways." It was a quiet warning, but for now, that was thankfully all it was - a warning.

Hermione breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"It was that mudblood loving fool of a man and his army of mindless idiots," Voldemort spat with mute anger in his voice. He smiled so suddenly that it was quite alarming, "But we will get our revenge soon enough. And it will be sweet."

Hermione was now hanging on his every word. But as more Death Eaters entered, Hermione backed into the crowd as Voldemort greeted the newly arrived Death Eaters.

Finally, when they were all crowded around him, did Voldemort begin, "My faithful servants," he began mockingly, "I have just been informed that 5 Death Eaters were killed in the attack on the Order yesterday morning. That just goes to show you what can and will happen if you are not careful!" He glared around at them all dangerously.

"Those idiots have been tracking us _very_ well lately. So well, in fact, that I am beginning to smell a traitor among your numbers. Be warned, I will personally handle anyone who is caught passing information to the enemy. You will be tortured beyond your most horrible and wild dreams. And you shall die in the worst imaginable way." He was now starting to breathe harder, his pale nostrils flaring angrily.

Suddenly, he screamed, "_Crucio!_", pointing his wand in a random direction, hitting Draco squarely on the chest. His eyes widened in surprise, and he fell to the ground, writhing all over the floor, Hermione could tell that he was trying very hard not to scream or cry out in pain. His eyes locked with hers, warning her not to do anything rash.

He knew her too well, she was just going to try and jinx Voldemort into obliteration, but now that she thought about it, it wasn't such a smart idea. Both of their minds were in panic mode, _Does he know?!_ But how could he possibly know that it was Draco all along? But perhaps he did aim his wand randomly, and he _happened_ to hit Draco.

Finally, Voldemort lifted the curse, and Draco and Hermione finally broke eye contact, as Draco, trembling ever so slightly, stood up again and maintained a dispassionate expression.

Hermione couldn't understand how he had just endured the ruthless pain of the Cruciatus Curse, and get up and act as though nothing had happened.

She had never wished to kill anyone so much as she did now. She was thinking on this too hard, _Draco is okay… he's okay…_ she desperately tried to hide what she was feeling, but tears were starting to form behind her eyes. _NO! Hold it in,_ she thought to herself viciously. She had to calm down, or she was going to break their cover.

Suddenly, Voldemort bellowed the curse and threw it in another random direction, this time hitting someone that Hermione didn't recognize.

Grateful for the small diversion, she stole a glance at Draco, who was watching her worriedly. As they made eye contact, she calmed down abruptly, and she looked away, at Voldemort's next victim.

_How is it fair_, she asked herself angrily, _that so many good and innocent people can die everyday because of him, and as evil as he is, he's still alive, killing people and hurting others!_ She just didn't understand how anyone could be so cruel, how he could have absolutely no good and righteous sense in him at all.

But he obviously didn't have any of either.

Voldemort's horrible tormenting of his Death Eaters finally ceased after his fifth victim passed out, and he at last seemed satisfied - for the moment.

"Anyways," he continued, "we have planned another scheme against the Order. This is to be the master of all that we have done so far. We must kidnap that Granger mudblood._ She_ has been the brain behind some of their most destructive plans, and both Potter and Dumbledore hold her in high esteem. That makes her the ideal target. We abduct her, and I know that they will go to any lengths to get her back. That means that we will have some of the Order's finest, including Harry Potter, knocking – wait, no, _blasting_ down our door. And we will be ready for them, will we not?"

A murmur of agreement went through the ranks of Death Eaters.

Hermione was simply stunned, her blood had run cold through her veins when he had announced with malice that they would be coming after none other than… _her_.

She never would have guessed that she would become the target. The plan was ingenious, old Voldy had been absolutely right for once.

The plan would have worked perfectly, luckily now though, they knew about it. Now only to prevent it from happening.

**A/N:** I know that everyone's a bit OOC and the plot is a bit weak and stuff... I wrote this as a young'un and there's only so much I can to to improve it now lol  
But thanks for reading! :)


	9. Captives

**Disclaimer:** HP?! I think not! Only the plot.

Hermione apparated in the patch of bushes that stood about a block away from the Order's headquarters. About a minute later, she began to change back into her own body. After the uncomfortable but relieving transformation, she began walking briskly towards Headquarters.

Fuming, she stormed in through the door, slamming it behind her, not even caring that she had woken up the portraits, which were now screaming at her furiously. She whipped a hex in their general direction and stomped into the kitchen, to find Draco sitting next to Dumbledore, watching her worriedly. Draco had never seen her this mad. Ever.

"That was about the most pointless load of crap ever! Draco could've gone and gotten the same exact information that I did! But, instead, we both went, and watching that stupid pig torture him, I almost tried to hex him! I almost tried to hex _Voldemort_!"

She glared at both of them as if her nearly hexing Voldemort had been entirely their fault, before yanking out a seat and plopping down in it. As she sat down and began to calm down a little, her fury dissolved into concern. She cleared her throat sheepishly.

"What are we going to _do_?" She voiced the silent question that they all had been asking themselves.

Draco was very impressed. Being irrational and thoughtless in her rage would've been a lot easier to do, but as annoyed as she was at being plotted against without knowing, she had calmed herself down enough to devise a plan. The last time he had seen her anywhere close to this mad was in their 3rd year at Hogwarts when she had almost decked him senseless.

"I know that hiding is not in your nature, but at the turn of events, I feel that it is absolutely necessary for you to conceal yourself from Voldemort and his followers," Dumbledore watched her expression for a minute, and knowing what was coming out of her mouth next, he added, "I know that your work is very important to you, but you _must_ do this. It is imperative to our operations that you do. If I know Tom like I think I do, hiding will indeed be difficult - but also absolutely necessary. I will arrange it with the Ministry so that you get as much time as needed off."

Hermione was on the verge of tears, but she fought them back and nodded dully, "where will I stay?"

"I think that here is the safest place, as he does not know for sure that it even exists," with that, Dumbledore nodded gravely at the the two of them and left the building.

Draco, who had been silent up until now, stood up. He had been watching Hermione concerned expression.

"C'mon, Hermione, I'll go with you, and we'll get some of your stuff, okay?"

She shrugged absently, but rose and followed him to the fireplace.

"I'll go first to see if the coast is clear, if its not, I'll send red sparks back. If it is, then I'll send green, okay?"

Again, she nodded somewhat mechanically.

Sighing, he grabbed a handful of the grainy powder from the pot by the hearth and walked into the fireplace, throwing the Floo Powder to the ground and muttering the destination, he disappeared.

[*]

After waiting for a couple of minutes, green sparks appeared before Hermione, and she followed him.

Choking, Hermione emerged from the emerald flames to find a wary Draco poking around her living room curiously.

"Nice place," he commented lightly.

"Thanks," she managed a weak smile.

Suddenly, a glowing red stunning spell shot through one of the windows and hit Draco squarely in the chest. Hermione quickly whipped her wand out before instinctively catching Draco's limp form and placing him gently on the floor. As soon as she looked up, in the blink of an eye, five dark cloaked Death Eaters surrounded her.

"Well, well, well… what have we here? It looks like my brainless idiot of a son was a mudblood-loving traitor after all," Lucius Malfoy snarled through a mask.

Hermione gasped as she recognized the voice of Draco's cruel father, who was one of the few people in the world that she truly hated.

She began throwing hexes and curses in every direction as she tried to grab Draco and apparate, but there were too many of them. She had hit a few with her wild and desparate curses, but there were still far too many for her to take on alone.

She was quickly stunned, and both her and Draco were rushed away from the area; no doubt Dumbledore would realize that they were missing soon, and Ministry officials and Order members alike would be swarming the house.

When Draco was young and still living at Malfoy Manor, Lucius had beaten him constantly, and wounded both his body and mind, making Draco believe that he was the scum of the earth, and the only way to move up on the list was to inflict pain and suffering upon others, particularly, muggle-borns and muggles.

But it had been Hermione who had made him see the truth, the light.

It had been her all along who had believed in him when no one else had, helping him find the goodness inside of him.

It was her who had saved Draco from himself. She had made his hellhole of a life worth living.

She was his light.

[*]

Hermione woke to her head throbbing unbearably. Opening her eyes, she struggled to focus her eyes as stars swirled around before her eyes. She gathered up as much energy as she could possibly muster, and tried to sit up. Immediately, a sharp pain shot through her head, and she gasped as darkness engulfed her mind again.

Draco awoke shivering from the chilly air. His eyes flew open once he realized that he was not at home in his cozy bed.

It seemed that he was in some sort of prison, in the darkness he could just make out the outline of a large, heavy door at the far wall.

There were no windows.

Hearing a groan somewhere to the left of him, he could just make out the dim form of a person.

_Hermione!_

His mind flooded with panic, suddenly remembering what had happened back her house the night before. Or was it last night? It was impossible to tell from the gloomy cell. _Was she okay? How had they gotten here? Where were they?_

Questions filled his mind, but no answers.

He quickly crawled over to her limp form, cradling her head in his lap.

"Hermione!"

She grunted, her eyes fluttering open briefly, then she winced, closing them once again.

He brushed a few stray curls from her forehead, and watched her worriedly.

"I'm okay, " she whispered as though it hurt just to speak.

"Its your head, isn't it? Did they hit you with something?" She could hear the anger start to seep into his voice.

"I don't know," she hissed, her eyes still closed.

She heard a low growl of frustration escape from his throat, and his breathing increased. "Its all my fault," he spat furiously.

"No, no, its not. Don't talk like that!" Hermione rasped, trying to calm him down.

A stream of very colorful language flew from Draco's mouth, making Hermione's eyes fly open in surprise, as yet another jet of pain shot through her head.

"Ahhhh… just shut up, Draco, okay? Its _not_ your fault, and even if it was, it doesn't even matter!" Her anger made her head pound even more painfully.

Draco sighed in defeat, "where do you think we are?"

Hermione exhaled, trying to keep her mind off of the pain. "I wish I knew… wait, no, I wish _Dumbledore_ knew. Maybe he does. I just hope someone on our side finds out… I won't let them do anything to you," her voice now sounded stronger.

He smiled down at her calmed face. She was fighting for him even now. He knew that her head must hurt like hell, but she had pushed the pain back, and was already talking about beating Death Eaters up if they came for him… this was what he loved most about her – her spirit.

Her spirit that would and could not be beaten or put down.

She would keep on fighting. And he would stay by her side.

Suddenly, he heard heavy footsteps outside their cell door. A grating sound told him a key was being inserted into the lock. It was the test of a lifetime, and they _both_ had to stand strong and fight.

**Authors' Note:** Thanks to SleepEnBeauty and Mrs. Alan M - my loyal readers :)


	10. Her Strength

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything you recognise :)

As the heavy door opened, light streamed through, leaving Draco momentarily blinded by the sudden light. A dark cloaked figure stood in the doorway, lighted wand held aloft. Draco's body tensed, and he instinctively reached for his wand, only to find that it was not there.

Hermione opened her eyes, glaring daggers at the tall approaching figure.

_If only looks could kill… he'd be dead by now_, Draco thought grimly.

"Draco," a deep, unpleasant voice sneered, "you are to come with me. Say bye-bye to the Mudblood, it just may be that you ever see… _it_."

Hermione was so cheerless that she didn't even have it in her to reply to the boorish remark made by the Death Eater.

Gazing up at him sadly, she whispered,

"I love you," fighting back the hot tears that burned behind her eyes. "I always have, and always will. No matter what."

His heart soared, just three little words… "I love you," he choked out."

"Don't give up! Its not over until the Fat Lady sings," she smiled softly, thinking about how barmy she sounded. Smiling back at her, he leaned down and gently kissed her, one last time.

As he rose, thick ropes snaked up his body, binding his hands and feet.

"_Mobilicorpus,_" the Death Eater murmured carelessly, flicking his wand in Draco's direction. Draco rose a few inches above the ground, his eyes never leaving Hermione's, even as the Death Eater guided him out the door.

As the door slammed shut behind the two of them, and the door was locked, Hermione's eyes filled with tears.

They both had known and accepted the great dangers that they faced everyday – helping the Order automatically made them targets for the enemy. And they weren't exactly rookies, either.

Before they had finished with school, they both were already involved in various operations and such that the Order was running.

And now they paid dearly for it.

_She had to save them both._

She highly doubted that anyone who would save them could find them before it was too late.

[*]

She pulled herself together, throbbing head and all, and tried to recall everything that she could about wandless magic… she had never actually gotten around to attempting it before, only the most powerful of wizards and witches could pull it off. She had done a good deal of research on it though… it had always interested her.

_Wandless magic…_ she closed her eyes pensively, racking her brain for every single detail about the subject that she could possibly remember.

_Think, Hermione, think!_  
_Okay, it's supposed to be exhausting… it takes an enormous amount of energy, concentration and will power… but its possible. No incantations are necessary, you just have to focus all of your mental power hard on what you want, and it should happen_.

She knew that she didn't have too much time, so she had to act quickly, even though her head was killing her.

Concentrating hard, she sat up, and placed a trembling hand on the back of her head, feeling a large and painful lump. _I don't _think_ I have a concussion_…

Grimacing, she focused all of her will power on healing the bulge on the back of her head a bit; knowing she would never be able to get up and do what she had to do if her head was throbbing horribly - she'd only pass out again.

_Heal._

She thought the word forcefully.

Nothing happened.

_That was rather anticlimactic,_ she thought dully.

She tried again, and nothing happened.

What was she forgetting?

Searching her mind, she could find nothing.

She tried again, and the same results.

_Relaxing! That's it! Somehow or other, I'm supposed to focus that hard, and relax at the same time._

_Okay… here goes…_

With renewed determination, she relaxed her entire body and mind, meditating for a brief moment, before gathering her psychological strength and trying again.

A few more failures followed her revelation, and she was getting tired from all of the effort she was expending. This wasn't exactly helping her headache, either. She was just going to try one last time...

_Heal._

Suddenly, she felt a curious power at her fingertips, it traveled through her body, and she felt some of her strength return, as the throbbing subsided, and the ostrich egg on the back of her head disappeared.

Her eyes flew open.

_What happened?_

All of the effort was supposed to take energy _away_, not _replace_ it.

Not that she really minded getting all of her energy back, but being Hermione, she wanted to know _why._

With a new air of confidence, she rose to her feet and walked to the door. Placing her fingertips on the rough wooden surface, she closed her eyes and gathered her willpower.

_Open._

Once again, absolutely nothing happened. She had to get the hang of this, and quickly.

Relaxing her mind the best she could, she focused her power at the door again,

_Open._

This time, though, it worked, the large door creaked open. She peeked her head out to make sure there was no guard.

There wasn't.

They obviously thought that she was harmless without a wand.

_Heh heh,_ Hermione 1, Death Eaters 0.

She closed the door behind her softly. It was not too much brighter out in the corridor, although there were windows, because it was nighttime. Strangely, the corridor was starting to remind her of somewhere else, she just didn't know where.

She ventured to the end of the hallway.

It was a fork, she could go either up a flight of stairs, or go left, and she had no idea which way would lead her to Draco.

The feeling that she had been here and done this before still wouldn't go away.

_Where am I?_ she asked her self over, and over. But she found no answer.

From what she could see of the house she was in, it was shabby, but appeared to be large and old. It looked abandoned, too. But apparently it was not.

Stopping to listen for voices or footsteps for a moment, she could hear nothing at all.

She felt a strong urge to go up the stairs.

Following her instinct, she started to climb the steep stairs until she reached the top – another long corridor. This one was a dead end, but had many doors. She decided against going back down the stairs, and quickly started to open and look inside the doors, one by one. This, unfortunately, left her mind free to wander, _what if it's too late? What if he's _not_ okay? What will I do without him?_

Fear mounted in her chest as she neared the end of the hallway.

All of the rooms had been rundown and utterly empty, no sign that anyone had been in any of them for years.

She opened the last door, expecting it to be as empty as the rest. But to her surprise, horror and joy (if you can imagine those three combined), it was not.

The door slammed behind her.

Draco lay sprawled on the floor, his pain apparent on his glistening face.

But he wasn't the only one in there. Towering above him was a face Hermione wished to completely erase from her mind.

It was Lord Voldemort.

They both were obviously surprised to see her, she had been locked up in a prison cell without her wand, after all. But Voldemort masked his surprise in an instant, and his piercing gaze held Hermione's.

She felt her mind being invaded, feeling his mind probing hers. And she knew what he was looking for.

Well, she wouldn't let him find it. _Blasted overgrown snake spawn_, she thought angrily.

Tearing her eyes away, she settled them on Draco.

Breathing heavily, he sat up slowly. Voldemort had obviously been using the Cruciatus curse on him.

Then it hit her.

_This was her recurring nightmare._

This was the dream that had plagued her all those years! That was why the house looked familiar.... but she had never gotten to the end of the dream.

She didn't know how it ended.

They would make their own ending, she had the element of surprise on her side.

Voldemort still didn't know she could perform wandless magic. He thought that she was about as threatening as a flobberworm without the protection of her wand. _Hah!_

She had to think fast. She wasn't underestimating Voldemort at all. She knew that if she did, that would be their downfall.

All she needed was a good plan...


	11. Luminare

**Disclaimer:** I didn't create anything you recognize.

Voldemort eyed Hermione maliciously,

"So, the infamous Mudblood has come to join us at last. I suppose you just _had_ to see this useless traitor one last time before you both met your deaths.

"But, no, _you_ will not die today, Mudblood. Though by the time I'm finished with you, there's no doubt you'll wish for death," he smiled cruelly.

"We need you alive if we want to get Harry Potter and Dumbledore here. I know that they will come. I just don't know why they prize you above those other gits."

Draco struggled to rise into a sitting position, and Hermione rushed over to help him.

"I don't suppose your going to tell me how a filthy idiot like yourself escaped the locked cell without a wand," Voldemort drawled, taking a step towards them.

Hermione's mind raced, devising a plan. With each second that ticked by, she became more dubious that she could do anything to save Draco or herself.

_Maybe I could knock him out while we escape? Nah, he'd wake up… wait! His wand! No, that's just stupid, he's probably just as dangerous without his wand…_

Voldemort turned on her suddenly, a manic gleam in his reptilian eyes, _"Crucio!"_

Pain like she had never known before shot through her entire body, she felt like she was on fire, the pain was so unbearable that she couldn't even scream… _Just make it stop_… she pleaded silently. Suddenly, something stirred within the deepest levels of her consciousness. This part of her mind was able to think clearly even through the excruciating pain started to take over, and began calming her body, and making the pain go away.

Hermione assumed Voldemort had lifted the curse off of her.

Voldemort once again searched her face, a look of realization dawning on his pale face, muttering something under his breath.

Hermione turned to look at Draco, who looked stunned. "What?" She hissed at him.

Voldemort's momentarily awed face cracked into an evil grin. "So _that's_ why you're Dumbledore's little favorite. You are a _luminare_. All the better, then. The old fool will rescue you at all costs."

_Luminare? What the hell is that?_ A confused jumble of thoughts rushed through Hermione's head. What had just happened?

Watching her face carefully, Voldemort chuckled softly, but the laughter did not reach his eyes.

"You don't even know what that is, do you?"

Hermione glared up at him defiantly.

"Of course I do!"

"Well, we'll see about that, shan't we?"

[*]

Later, after they both had been thrown unceremoniously back into the prison cell, but this time, they could hear the low sound of two guard's voices just outside the door. Apparently they weren't being left alone again.

"What's going on, Draco? Why did he let you go instead of killing you? What did I do?"

"One at a time, Hermione, calm down."

"_Calm down?_ CALM DOWN? I don't even know what the bloody hell is going on, and it seems that I did it!" Hermione hated to be ignorant of anything, and probably done nearly anything for a library in which to do research at that moment.

Draco sighed, defeated. "Alright… its just as confusing for me as it is for you. First off, do you know what _luminaria_ are?"

Hermione let out a great exhale of frustration, and plopped down on the ground beside Draco.

"No."

He nodded, "I figured you didn't."

He closed his eyes pensively, gathering his thoughts together.

"_Luminaria_ are witches or wizards with certain... extra powers. They are also known as 'The Warriors of Light'. They are extremely rare, and it's a magnificent gift to have. _Luminaria_ have the absolute purest magic of anyone alive. It is said that once, all witches and wizards also possessed this pure power, but after many years it was weakened by corruption and misuse. Among the things that they are capable of – they can learn and master wandless magic a lot easier than normal magic folk, and they have amazing abilities to fight dark curses without the aid of a wand. They all fight for the good side. They have powerful magic, and are smart and quick. It's just _in_ them, you know?"

He looked deep into her eyes for a moment, and added, "Voldemort thinks you're one of them."

Her eyes widened. "_What?_ Draco… that's not possible! I didn't even know what that meant until now!"

"Hermione, think about it! I'm guessing that you broke out of this cell using wandless magic, right? And back in there, when Voldemort put the Cruciatus Curse on you, just seconds after, before he even had the chance to take it off or enjoy your suffering, you fought it off without even meaning to! If anyone ever tried to put the Imperious Curse one you, you'd probably fight it off in seconds!"

He was excited now, and he jumped to his feet and started to pace the length of the cell.

"I can't believe that we never saw it before… you always were way ahead of the other kids in magic, you could always do all of the spells, no matter how advanced… we all just thought you were brilliant, but no one ever guessed that you were a _luminare!_ Do you reckon Dumbledore knows?"

Hermione sat in stunned silence.

Draco came back over and sat beside her, taking her small hand in his.

"Do you think that we could get out of here somehow?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I'm not sure… its really all up to you, you know, I can't do anything without a wand."

"I can't believe that I had never even heard of luminas before! All the books I read!"

"Well, I don't think there has been another luminare for centuries… besides Dumbledore, of course."

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head "HE'S ONE OF THEM? Why doesn't anyone ever tell me _anything?_"

She glared accusingly at him, as though it was all somehow his fault.

Their conversation was cut short by the sudden sound of yelling voices outside of their door.

One moment, everything sounded normal and quiet, while in the next, it was complete chaos.

They stared at each other for a moment.

_Had the Order come to their aid at last?_


	12. Battle

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing you recognise.

A series of explosions erupted out in the corridor, followed by much yelling and hurried incantations.

"Now's our chance, let's go!" Draco urged, pulling Hermione to her feet.

She looked torn, "but, neither of us have wands… we'll get killed out there! Are you deaf?"

"No we won't get killed! What are you talking about? You don't even need a bloody wand!"

"Oh, alright!" She agreed, now pulling him towards the door.

"It takes awhile sometimes, I haven't quite got the hang of it…"

She pressed her trembling hand on the solid door and squeezed her eyes shut.

"_Open._"

The force that flowed through her hand seemed stronger this time, as if it was not only her willpower alone. As they slipped through the door, her eyes rested upon their intertwined hands.

_Is it possible to use someone else's strength as well as your own?_

She had no further time to think about this possibility. She immediately noticed that the corridor was torn up now, but there were no bodies, alive or dead.

She dropped Draco's hand as they hurried along the hallway, following the sounds of battle. They needed to see whom it was that the Death Eaters were fighting.

Up ahead, the corridor turned sharply, and it was clear from the loud noise and flashing light that that's where the battle was currently raging.

She stopped dead in her tracks, causing Draco to run into her.

"What?" He whispered in her ear.

"Shhh!" She elbowed him in the stomach for emphasis.

"Oomph! _What the hell was that for?_"

She glared at him, "I'm TRYING to hear what they're saying!"

He took the cue and shut up, also listening.

"_AVADA KEDAVERA!_

"_NEVILLE!_ Are you alright?"

"I'm fine… GIVE ME BACK MY WAND, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"

"_CRUCIO!_"

_-BANG!-_

A figure dragged another into Hermione and Draco's view and shoved him against the wall, obviously not seeing either of them.

"_What did you do with Hermione and Draco?_ You will tell me or die! Choose, you filthy bastard!"

The figure doing the questioning looked oddly familiar…

"HARRY!"

The person who was now prodding the slumped form on the ground looked up.

"_HERMIONE!_"

He quickly stunned the man at his feet and rushed over to them, "Draco! Are you alright? Gods, you're a mess…"

"Gee, thanks," Hermione said dryly.

He looked apologetically at her. "I've gotta get you two out of here…" he paused, trying to think of how they could escape undetected.

"No! Just give me a wand, mate, and I'll help," Draco looked determined, "but you'll have to hide her."

Hermione glared up at him furiously, "EXCUSE ME? Draco Delphinus Malfoy, you should know better than anyone that I'm not going to be brushed aside like some delicate doll and not fight!" she turned her back on him, directing her attention to Harry.

"I don't need a wand," she snapped, and stormed down the hall and around the corner before either one of them could stop her.

"_What?_ She's going to get herself killed!" Harry exclaimed, starting after her.

"No – wait, she's right… she'll be okay, if she can work without a wand, I guess that that also means that she can well… kind of _throw_ spells or something…."

"You okay, mate?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "yes! I'll tell you later, okay? C'mon, lets go!"

"Fine… _Delphinus_"

Draco glowered at him, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that to anyone…" he said menacingly, cracking his knuckles for effect.

Harry grinned, unfazed, and pointing his wand at the rigid body of the man in the corner, he muttered, "_Accio Wand!_"

A wand flew out of the man's robes and in to Harry's outstretched hand. He tossed it to Draco, who caught it deftly.

"Whatever." Harry replied, cracking an evil smile.

They hurried around the corner, and helped their exhausted comrades defeat the rest of their enemies. Near the end, Dumbledore appeared and helped to heal the injured Order members.

As the limp forms of the Death Eaters were carried out to be taken to Azkaban, Draco had time to ponder why Voldemort had not been present during the battle. He then realized that he had not seen Harry for a good 10 minutes.


End file.
